This Tuesday marks the beginning of the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, one of, if not the biggest, video game showcase in the world. And starting Sunday, June 12, all the major developers will start their pre-show press conferences. Nintendo’s presence at the expo is expected to be negligible at best.

What are you playing at Nintendo?

Even Nintendo fans would admit that the last year has been extraordinarily weak. Particularly the past six months. Wii U sales have been lagging far behind this console generation. Only one big title, Star Fox Zero, has been released in 2016, and to say that reception was mixed would be putting it kindly. The 3DS has fared much better, but even it has seen a slowdown on major title releases.

The Big N will only be showing a handful of games at E3, with only the upcoming Legend of Zelda title expected to be playable. This at least helped put out of some of the fires when it was apparently misreported that Zelda would be the only Nintendo game at E3, period. But still, one playable game and a niche import title for home consoles? At least the 3DS will get Pokemon.

What are you playing at Nintendo?

Nintendo announced the upcoming NX during a shareholders meeting about two months ago. A beacon of hope for the bottom line, to be released in early 2017, speculation has been running rampant for months. Is it a home console-handheld hybrid? Is it cartridge based? Well, keep asking those questions, because the NX will not be at E3.

What are you playing at Nintendo?

It is always possible that Nintendo and new President Tatsumi Kimishima will spring some surprises on the audience. However, with the way Nintendo seems to want to have itself distanced from your average everyday game company, it seems unlikely. With the last lackluster year, perhaps Nintendo didn’t want to risk getting overshadowed at what is becoming a slightly overstuffed event. Sony and Microsoft both have console upgrades on the horizon (although Sony recently announced that their PlayStation 4 upgrade, Neo, will not be at E3), and maybe Nintendo felt they couldn’t compete. Perhaps Nintendo will host their own solo event for the NX announcement, so they can ensure that all eyes are on them and attentions aren’t divided. But until then, you still have to ask yourself:

What are you playing at Nintendo?

Shaun Andrews

Shaun Andrews is an all-around fanboy who has been irrevocably damaged since watching both Full Metal Jacket and Lethal Weapon 2 on the same night at the tender age of 6. He studied Radio / TV Production at MTSU and now puts those skills to use playing video games and bitching about stuff on the Internet.